The coal fields of central Appalachia are not free.
The coal fields of central Appalachia are not free.
Somewhere near the Asian values section, Donally talks about the dichotomy between development and human rights. Specifically he talks about whether or not it is acceptable on the international arena to violate human rights for the sake of economic development. The obvious case in example is the third world in general. Specifically, think about the rain forests; indigenous peoples are losing their right to their culture and family lives when they are driven off their traditional lands as the forests are cleared for agriculture, specifically, ranches.
This debate may be difficult to internalize because we are not directly affected by third world development in our everyday consciousness. But what about when human rights are sacrificed for economic prosperity, not development? That is to ask is it acceptable, for the sake of our own economic well-being and comfort for human rights violations to continue to occur in order to feed the fires of the black furnace capitalism?
Case in point: Coal fields of Appalachia are not free; the people live under the dictatorship of King coal and for over 150, the people living in this region have been at the mercy of the violent whims of what is good for the coal industry. Everyday coal miners enter into unsafe working conditions, blatant violations of industry safety standards, so that the rest of the nation might have cheap electricity. Not only are the miners themselves at risk and suffer HR working violations, but everyone living in the area must reckon with the reality of a high impact mineral extraction economy.
Communities all over the coal fields are faced with poisoned water supplies, flooding, the threat of sludge impoundment dam failure, dangerous coal dust, and a public opinion that there is no point to fight for the interests of the people while there is so much power vested in the coal companies. The people living in these areas do not have the same life that the rest of America can enjoy. They live in a sacrifice zone that is being pillaged and ravaged for the sake of cheap electricity.
What other examples are there of such “sacrifice zones” in our own country?
Is the reality of this example and others acceptable if it provides for the stability and growth of our economic system?
Are there other nations that prosper without the exploitation of their citizens?
What kind of actions can we take to lessen our dependence on such HR violations?
Do you think many people think about this sort of thing? If not is that a problem?
How is this a commentary on capitalism, globalization and modernity?
Somewhere near the Asian values section, Donally talks about the dichotomy between development and human rights. Specifically he talks about whether or not it is acceptable on the international arena to violate human rights for the sake of economic development. The obvious case in example is the third world in general. Specifically, think about the rain forests; indigenous peoples are losing their right to their culture and family lives when they are driven off their traditional lands as the forests are cleared for agriculture, specifically, ranches.
This debate may be difficult to internalize because we are not directly affected by third world development in our everyday consciousness. But what about when human rights are sacrificed for economic prosperity, not development? That is to ask is it acceptable, for the sake of our own economic well-being and comfort for human rights violations to continue to occur in order to feed the fires of the black furnace capitalism?
Case in point: Coal fields of Appalachia are not free; the people live under the dictatorship of King coal and for over 150, the people living in this region have been at the mercy of the violent whims of what is good for the coal industry. Everyday coal miners enter into unsafe working conditions, blatant violations of industry safety standards, so that the rest of the nation might have cheap electricity. Not only are the miners themselves at risk and suffer HR working violations, but everyone living in the area must reckon with the reality of a high impact mineral extraction economy.
Communities all over the coal fields are faced with poisoned water supplies, flooding, the threat of sludge impoundment dam failure, dangerous coal dust, and a public opinion that there is no point to fight for the interests of the people while there is so much power vested in the coal companies. The people living in these areas do not have the same life that the rest of America can enjoy. They live in a sacrifice zone that is being pillaged and ravaged for the sake of cheap electricity.
What other examples are there of such “sacrifice zones” in our own country?
Is the reality of this example and others acceptable if it provides for the stability and growth of our economic system?
Are there other nations that prosper without the exploitation of their citizens?
What kind of actions can we take to lessen our dependence on such HR violations?
Do you think many people think about this sort of thing? If not is that a problem?
How is this a commentary on capitalism, globalization and modernity?
posted by adam w | 10:55 AM
1 Comments:
No many people do not think about the workers in our own country whose rights are being violated let alone the rest of the world. Once again it takes a crises such as the one in WV's Sago Mine to draw attention to problems and issues that need to be resolved. The coalmining industry has a long history of workers' rights violations. There has been no action before now because most people did not even know people still live like that in the U.S. Hopefully the lives lost in mines recently have not been in vain and will result in legislation change of some kind to guarentee miners' rights.
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